Ocean's 11 DVD Review:


The Movie

In Ocean's Eleven, Danny Ocean (GEORGE CLOONEY) is paroled from prison and immediately begins orchestrating his latest plan - to pull off the most daring heist in the history of Las Vegas. The target? Three of the most popular casinos on the Vegas Strip: The Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand.

With the help of his trusted cohort, Rusty Ryan (BRAD PITT),they put together the top nine picks for the job; Linus Caldwell (MATT DAMON), whose nimble fingers can pick any pocket; Basher Tarr (DON CHEADLE) the Cockney munitions expert; Reuben Tishkoff (ELLIOTT GOULD), who was muscled out of his hotel by the new king of Las Vegas and now sees a way to even the score; the Malloy brothers, Virgil (CASEY AFFLECK) and Turk (SCOTT CAAN), expert auto mechanics and drivers; Frank Catton (BERNIE MAC), professional card dealer and observer; Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), who thought he was retired from the con business; Livingston Dell (EDDIE JEMISON), the eyes and ears of the team, whose work on both sides of the law has made him a surveillance expert capable of tapping into the most sophisticated security system; and Yen (SHAOBO QIN), a Chinese acrobat whose unique talents make him the perfect grease man.

As the story unfolds it’s obvious why Danny has picked these particular places. The casinos are owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the new boyfriend of Danny's ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), and it's the only way Danny knows how to win back his true love.

Ocean's Eleven goes for the less serious take. It’s a slick heist story that lacks character. This movie is a re-interpretation of the original, and should be judged by its own standards. There are a few twist however, but nothing really memorable. The real pleasure in Ocean's Eleven is in seeing so many stars all together in the one film. Fans of Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Garcia or Roberts will find there's enough to like here. Keep in mind however, that all of the characters (except for Clooney) don't get extensive screen time. Still, the cast seemed to be having some fun with making the film.

Director Steven Soderbergh allows his cast to include in their performances bits of their own personalities with great success. Soderbergh skillfully masters the art of making the impossible casino robbery look easy and gives the action a boost by revealing the details of the plan only as it unfolds right in front of us. This film may not tackle the serious subject matter of Soderbergh's Traffic and or Erin Brockovich, but it's a solid tribute to the classic Rat Pack movies.

I’m going to be honest with you, the tempo of this film was way too slow for me. The only good thing I can say about the cast in this film was that Julia Robert's character wasn’t developed at all (Thank God!), as a matter of fact, many of the characters weren’t. This film is definitely a beef cake movie, guys take my advice, rent it and use the movie as an excuse to fall asleep while the females watch the movie.

The Video

Ocean’s Eleven appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The DVD transfer for Ocean’s Eleven is very faithful to the theatrical version of the film, If you’re familiar with any of Soderbergh’s work, you know that he tends to use his own stylistic visual presentation. Although Ocean’s Eleven still has that distinctive Soderbergh look to it, it’s toned down here. While not as excessive as Traffic, this film more closely resembles such films as Out of Sight and Erin Brokovich, for visual appearance sake.

The picture usually provided a solid viewing experience, a gorgeous looking DVD. The image is consistently sharp and wonderfully defined throughout the course of the film. There were virtually no signs of softness or fuzziness. No jagged edges, but I did see a shimmer during a couple of scenes, minor but noticeable. No examples of edge enhancement. Some light grain appeared, but otherwise the picture was good. Tones remained clear and tight throughout the movie. Black levels looked deep and rich, contrast appeared very solid. Warner once again puts out another top-notch title. This was a very pleasing visual experience.

The Audio

Warner Brothers presents Ocean’s Eleven in Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The mix does an excellent job of presenting the material at hand, but there’s not enough there to make Ocean’s Eleven a demo piece to show off your system to your friends.

The music offered solid stereo imaging, and effects seemed natural and well defined. Sound spread cleanly across the forward channels. It showed good blending. Surround usage seemed limited though. The rear speakers reinforced the film’s music and they also occasionally offered decent effects. Although the sound was fairly passive much of the time, there were, however, scenes that came to life for the most part.

At times I noticed the dialogue displayed some edginess. The bass response appeared somewhat limited. The music score sounded decent, but it could have been deeper and richer. Overall, the film presents a good quality mix that is adequate for this particular film. There’s nothing astounding or spectacular to be found here, but the majority of the film remains in the forward spectrum with very nice separation, it’s all mingled together perfectly, with nice balance throughout.

The Extras

• Audio commentary With Director Steven Soderbergh and Writer Ted Griffin

• Audio Commentary With Actors Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia

• HBO's First Look: The Making of "Ocean's Eleven" (documentary)

• The Look of the Con (documentary)

• Theatrical Trailers

• Cast and Crew

• DVD-ROM Features

The two audio commentaries are fun. The first is with Soderbergh and Ted Griffin - Soderbergh is very entertaining and talks about the film and some interesting tidbits here and there, but nothing really exciting. The second commentary features Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon - some really interesting stories from the filming of Ocean’s Eleven, along with praise for their co-stars and others involved with the film. Damon and Garcia offered their fair share of jokes and presented some great tales of their own from the set. We get a load of inside information from the three stars and it sounds like they had a great time. Overall, fun stories from the set – worth the time to check out.

HBO First Look: The Making of Ocean's Eleven: Interviews with the stars and director and some background information on the movie.

The Look of the Con: this segment concentrates on the different outfits and "costumes" of the different members of the cast.

Cast and Crew bios

DVD-ROM links you to the original website and an interactive game "In or Out".

Overall

Overall the story, is fun to watch. It's not a brilliant film, but there is enough star exposure to entertain. Ocean's Eleven is just a slick, underachieving movie that lacks the soul of the original and the inspiration of a true retelling.

This movie has the cast, it has the concept, it has the location, and it has the budget, but it doesn't have the crisp pacing that should spur the material along. I must say on the other hand that it does take the material of the heist genre and spices it up.

Should you rent it or buy it? Well, Ocean's Eleven is not going to break any new ground, but like a good round at the Blackjack table, it's just good fun. I just wouldn’t bet the house on it – not worthy of my DVD collection, but worth a rental. Warner has certainly done a fine job with this disc, so no matter which choice you make, you'll walk out a winner.

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